War is Good for One Thing
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: A Tigerclaw/Anne story from The Wotch. Manipulated by Lord Xaos, Tigerclaw kidnaps and interrogates Anne for weeks on end while things become increasingly depressing back in Tandy Gardens. The war is driving Tigerclaw to her breaking point while Anne heads in the same direction. Miranda and Cassie fight to bring Anne back, but will they be too late. Heavy mentions of torture.
1. Chapter 1

**_The Wotch is the property of Anne Onymous and Robin Ericson. That is all._**

**_Alright, so this is obviously something new for me. I've gotten interested and borderline obsessed with the Wotch lately and I kept rolling ideas over in my head. I currently have five ideas, this one included, and the only reason my first one hasn't been posted is because I haven't finished the first chapter. Don't worry, that's coming. Anyway, by all means, enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think._**

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"Hey Anne!" Robin called, running up and grinning at the redhead.

"Hey Robin." Anne replied, opening her locker and retrieving the books she needed while depositing the ones she no longer needed for her classes. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to join me, Jason and Cassie for some videogames?"

"Sorry, Robin. I have to head to Miranda's. She says things are picking up and she wants me to be prepared for anything that my come at me."

The brunette's shoulders slumped. "Oh, okay. See ya later then."

Anne put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry." She comforted him. "I'll be able to hang out some other time. You know that."

"Yeah." Robin nodded, turning and waving as they headed in different directions. Anne walked calmly through the woods, knowing that the magical barriers would prevent most things from coming at her. Coming to the house in the woods, the redhead knocked politely before being let inside.

"You're late." Miranda murmured, standing from her chair and motioning for Anne to follow.

The redhead checked the watch Robin had given her for her sixteenth birthday and raised an eyebrow. "By thirty seconds." She huffed, trailing her mentor into their pocket dimension so that she could train.

"Yes, but every second counts with your training. You must learn all I can teach you in as little amount of time as possible so that you can practice it without me always having to be here." Miranda turned to face her pupil and found Anne ready for anything she may have for her.

"Today we are going to focus on your reaction time in a battle." The former Wotch stated, hands behind her back.

"Battle?" Anne wondered.

"Yes." Miranda shot fire at the redhead right as she answered and Anne dodged to the side quickly.

"Always with the fire first." She sighed, raising her hands to conjure a barrier to stop the next attack. "Why can't they ever go for ice or air first? It's always the fire."

Dodging another fire attack, the young Wotch lashed out with a blast of wind, knocking Miranda backwards as the former Wotch had not expected her student to fight back, but merely remain on the defensive. _Good. A surprise is always good._

Miranda brought up a hand to block the water attack that came at her, but seconds later, the water that had splashed around her feet turned to ice, holding her in its grip as Anne sent another blast of magic in her direction. Miranda dodged the blast as she simultaneously sent one of her own at the other Wotch, distracting her long enough to melt the ice around her feet.

Anne had dodged the blast Miranda had sent her way and rolled to the side to dodge the next one that the freed Wotch shot. While in the roll, she attempted to take aim and succeeded in getting a fireball thrown in the correct direction. Miranda quickly blocked it, but was unprepared for the torrent of water that slammed her into the wall.

Dropping to the floor, she put up a quick shield as Anne created a fire dragon to try distracting her. Miranda wasn't taking the bait and the redhead's next attack, an illusion of a knight on horseback, simply hit the barrier as well. Miranda stood from her place and put up a hand to stop the younger Wotch.

"You did well." Miranda stated. "However, your reactions were three seconds slower than they should have been. You need to get faster at anticipating any and every move your opponent will pull."

Anne sighed and nodded, shoulders slumped as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

"Oh and Anne?" the redhead turned back with a quizzical expression. "Make sure to invite Jason and Robin over for the session in four days, understood?"

"Wait, you actually _want _them here for it?" Anne inquired, confused at this knowledge.

"Yes, I do. I believe they will be vital in what I am going to be teaching you next." The redhead was still confused but nodded all the same and waved to Arizona as she headed for home. Thinking on the battle strategies Miranda had used while she walked, Anne analyzed the different methods she did, wondering if she would be able to do that during battle. Suppose she didn't have much of a choice.

**Meanwhile…**

Xaos sat atop his throne, hand on his chin as he watched Anne walk home. She was obviously deep in thought over the session she had just had with her mentor and he wondered what she was thinking about.

Turning away from the mirror, he instead glanced out the window and found a handful of Fallen returning with Uricarn from their latest mission of Resistance hunting. From the lack of blood on the Fallen's claws, he surmised that they did not find any. He was about to turn away when a flash of red caught his eye.

Looking more closely at the group, he noticed one Fallen scampering further behind the rest. It was the only red one he owned, Elise Redd. _How strange._ He mused, watching her hurry to catch up with the other Fallen as they entered the castle. _Wasn't she on a different search and destroy mission?_ Shaking his head, the Dark Lord turned from the window and back to his image of Anne.

She was doing her homework while conjuring playthings for her brother-turned-sister. _Hm, she is resourceful. I will hand that to her, but she is still inexperienced. How can I fulfill the prophecies if she isn't properly trained when the time comes to carry them out?_

Turning at a sudden crash, Xaos watched as several Fallen rushed past, most of them looked to be _fleeing_. _What on earth could make a Fallen afraid?_

He received his answer mere seconds later when a flash of red darted past the door, claws slashing at any Fallen that came even close to her. Elise hissed angrily at all of them and continued lashing out, dark eyes narrowed further than usual.

Xaos sighed, rolling his unseen eyes. _What could have made her upset this time? I would have thought the other Fallen would have realized that she's not to be trifled with. Her rage is the reason we keep her chained up!_

Just then, the red creature turned toward the throne room and cocked her head at the Dark Lord. Xaos noticed a slight flicker in the eyes and wondered what that could have been. Before he could analyze it further, Elise was gone, running after another target that dared enrage her.

_Hm, if this keeps up… I may have a new commander of the Fallen army._ Deciding that Elise had had enough fun for now, the Dark Lord called, "Uricarn!"

The demon dragon entered the throne room minutes later, sporting a gash on his cheek that was already closing. "Yes, Lord Xaos?" he inquired, wiping at a small dribble of blood.

"Have the red one taken back to the dungeon before she destroys the castle. And make sure she's chained."

"Yes, boss." Turning, Uricarn leaped into the fray, helping the other Fallen to take down their comrade so that she could be subdued. Lifting the bound creature over his head, Uricarn easily transported her down to the dungeon. Taking one of her arms, he clipped the manacle around it and used his tail to untie her. "Nighty-night, toots." He snickered, slamming the door shut.

Unbeknownst to the Dark Lord, as soon as she was chained to the wall, the red Fallen instantly calmed, crouching close to the ground and focusing on the wall to try clearing her mind. Once cleared, the struggle began. _Should find… _**kill…**_ no, find… _**kill…**_ no, find the… _**murder and torment…**_ find the… _**kill them all…**_ resistance soldiers… _**kill them all…**_ no, find them… _**then kill…**_ no, help… _**kill…**_ help… _**kill…**

It was like this every night. Every night, once she was chained, Elise would battle with herself to try figuring out what she would do. But one thing was for certain: she was going to _leave this castle._

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**_Hm, t seems I continue to think of this more as the comic than as an actual story. I'm not sure if that will come in handy or not, but I'll keep it up for now. As for the title… well, I need help again, I suppose. That's the best I could get at the moment, so if y'all have any suggestions as the story goes on, I'm happy to hear'em._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_The Wotch is the property of Anne Onymous and Robin Ericson. Here's the next chapter of this fic for all of you wonderful people reading it. Hope you enjoy it! That is all now._**

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Anne grinned as she bounced into school the next day. Meeting up with Jason and Robin, she moved to her locker.

"How was training?" Robin asked, leaning against the lockers beside hers.

"We worked on battle speed." The redhead replied, shutting her locker calmly. "She tested my reflexes and I'm three seconds too slow."

"Well, maybe we can help you get faster." Robin suggested.

"How?" Anne inquired.

"You'll see." The brunette told her, grabbing Jason and rushing off.

Anne raised an eyebrow in confusion before shrugging and continuing on to class. For the rest of the day, Anne kept glancing at her friends who all kept giving her secretive winks and mysterious smiles. At the end of the day, Anne couldn't find any of her friends and decided to head right to Miranda's. Moving through the woods, the redhead wondered what her friends were up to.

Unseen above, a pair of hazel eyes opened and a grey-clad figure leaped down, swinging a staff expertly. Anne had to dodge quickly and cast a short fire spell. The person easily dodged and leaped back, giving Anne the chance to back away slightly. However, a second person clad in red landed behind her and, knowing turning around could waste time, Anne simply jumped to the side to avoid a leap attack. The second person hit the first and the pair went rolling.

Without hesitation, a light green-clad figure rushed from the bushes as another person leaped from the trees, this time swathed in bright yellow. Anne's heart pounded as she began casting attack spells in every direction, mind racing to find any weaknesses. This pair seemed even more skilled than the first two, their speed faster than she could follow half the time. Matters worsened when the first two figures returned from untangling themselves from each other. Their attacks came swiftly and Anne barely had time to retaliate or dodge. Taking a deep breath, the Wotch set her jaw and began moving a little faster, pushing her body to its limit.

By this time, the number had grown from four to eight and Anne grit her teeth in determination. However, she was beginning to grow tired and worn out and her opponents weren't showing any signs of letting up soon. Deciding to do a risky move, Anne waved her hands. "**Circumference infernum!**"

A ring of fire appeared around her and the figures all jumped back. Gasping for breath, Anne fell to her knees and took the time to catch her breath. Suddenly, a raincloud appeared over her ring and extinguished her fire. Anne stood, getting battle ready since she expected the figures to come at her again. To her surprise, the first person motioned to the others and they all took off. The redhead waited just in case before sinking to the ground again. A rustling in the bushes propelled her to her feet, but she relaxed when Miranda stepped out.

"That was very good." She praised, watching Anne sit back down. "That was one second faster than you should have been and you gradually got faster."

"You did that?" Anne asked.

"No, but I'm happy whoever did was present. I suppose that negates our practice for the day. Although, tomorrow, we will have to work on your aim considering you will sometimes be surrounded by innocent bystanders during a battle and cannot always afford to shoot in every direction you think of. Continue home and I will see you tomorrow."

Miranda turned and headed in the direction of her home. Anne slowly picked herself up and trod back home, passing out on the couch when she arrived. Evan grinned as he heard the front door open and tried to seem nonchalant as he walked into the living room. To his surprise, the front door was wide open and Anne was fast asleep on the couch. _Huh, must have been a hard session. I'll ask her tomorrow._ Evan went back to the kitchen to finish dinner while Anne rested.

**MEANWHILE**

Elise growled as she and several other Fallen were led to a village that was rumored to be housing resistance troops. She glanced around and a vague memory came to her. Taking a turn, the red creature bounded through the underbrush and arrived at the village early. Villagers gasped at the sight of her, knowing what the presence of a Fallen would mean.

"Rrrrrnnnn!" she hissed motioning to them.

One woman, the one Elsie had spared last time, instantly understood and began encouraging the villagers to run in the opposite direction. Elise nodded and leaped away, arriving at the back of the group of Fallen in time for Uricarn to point them in the direction of the village. The other Fallen leaped into action as Elise simply climbed buildings and swung form beams. None of the villagers remained, but a group of Fallen found tracks. They were three toed tracks and those Fallen instantly turned to Elise. The red Fallen glared at them and brandished her claws. They began arguing back and forth and Uricarn rolled his eyes.

"Come on!" he ordered, beckoning with his tail. The Fallen immediately followed the command as Elise trailed slowly.

_Must find_… **kill…** _must find…_ **kill…** _the resistance…_ **murder…** _the resistance…_ **torture…** _the general!_ With that one thought, the voice disappeared and Elise was in full control. Slipping into the trees, she began hurrying in another direction, sensing the general and heading to her real commander.

**MEANWHILE AGAIN**

"Boss, the villagers were already gone by the time we arrived." Uricarn stated, bowing as he entered the throne room.

"That is unfortunate." Xaos murmured, standing from his throne. "We will have to go after them at some point. For now, put Elise in the dungeon as always and take the rest of the Fallen for a hunt."

"Yes, Lord Xaos." Uricarn turned and raised a scaly eyebrow, cocking his head in confusion. "Hey, where'd she go?"

"Hm?" Xaos glanced to him with a quizzical head cock.

"Boss, she's gone."

"How hard could it be to find her?" the Dark Lord growled.

"Well, she's the only red one you have, so it shouldn't be too hard, but she's not here anymore." Uricarn's tail flicked nervously, wondering what was going to happen now.

"She has finally broken free and gone to find her General. Good. Everything is going according to plan." Xaos turned away from the demon dragon and Uricarn sighed in relief.

"Come on, you lot!" he called to the remaining Fallen. "Let's go hunting!"

As the Fallen raced after the dragon, Xaos rubbed his chin. He had simply not wanted Uricarn to start losing face. This issue with Elise Redd's disappearance was not something to be taken lightly. The resistance had a Kalimundi and a potential sorcerer after all. If they were to figure out how to reverse the effects of the Sword of Shadows, then his whole empire could come crashing down within weeks if not days.

He needed to get that Fallen back. And he knew just how to do it.

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**_**_And there you go. Everything's beginning to fall into place even though it's just beginning. You guys are going to love this, trust me. Hope you stick around for it. _**_**

**_**_Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile. _**_**

**_**_Now, drop me a review, yeah?_**_**


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